Former US Treasury secretary says buying Bitcoin is normal

Deciding to invest in or hold funds in Bitcoin is a personal choice, provided the asset is properly regulated. Former US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin holds this view.

«If people want to buy #bitcoin as a substitute, no different than buying gold or some other asset, it’s fine. I don’t personally want to have it in my portfolio but if people want to that’s perfectly fine,» says @stevenmnuchin1 #btc pic.twitter.com/dmyRp3SXtK

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) July 14, 2021

In an appearance on CNBC, the former official said he had not personally invested in the flagship cryptocurrency. But he is not at all concerned if others have acted differently.

\”If people want to buy the first cryptocurrency as an alternative to gold, that’s normal. It’s an asset just like any other\”, he explained.

A key point, in Mnuchin’s view, is ‘full compliance with regulatory requirements and the Bank Secrecy Act’. The latter is aimed at preventing financial institutions from being used to launder money.

The former official stressed that his position has remained unchanged since 2019. At the time he assured that he would not permit turning Bitcoin into an analogue of an account at a Swiss bank offering enhanced privacy. He urged the development of \”very, very strict rules\”.

The former minister mentioned the decision by the OCC within the Treasury to create the position of a policy advisor for digital assets.

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